Digital tags fitted at West Yorkshire bus stops for live bus times

Joseph Keith

Thousands of bus stops across the region are being fitted with digital tags for passengers to scan for live departure information on mobile phones.

Transport bosses from West Yorkshire Combined Authority (WYCA) are rolling out the tags to more than 13,000 bus stop timetables across West Yorkshire, to give passengers real-time travel updates.

They can be scanned using an app on mobile phones or tablets and will connect people directly to WYCA’s Yournextbus web page showing live travel times.

It comes after WYCA approved funding last week for a new project to upgrade bus and train websites and travel information boards across the region.

Kirklees Councillor Eric Firth, deputy chairman of WYCA’s Transport Committee, said: “People have told us that having reliable, real-time information makes them more likely to use the bus and this work to install to over 13,000 bus stops is an important step in making that information available more simply.

“As was shown by last week’s Transport Committee approval for a programme of work to improve our real-time and on-line information provision, the Combined Authority is committed to using new and emerging technology to improve passengers’ journeys and experiences.”

The Quick Response codes (QR) and Near Field Communication tags (NFC) have been installed in the bottom left-hand corner of timetable cases at around 2,000 bus stops so far.

A further 7,000 will be added to bus stops in West Yorkshire throughout November and December.

Passengers who have a smartphone camera can download a free app to read the tags and scan the code, which will then connect them to live departure times for that particular stop.

The new project is being carried out as part of WYCA’S Smart Card and Information programme.

WYCA said last week it will replace and improve the Yournextbus departure information service.

The service gives commuters real-time information, online or by text, about departure times of buses from more than 34,000 bus stops across West, North and South Yorkshire.

Wakefield Council leader Peter Box, chairman of WYCA, said: “Innovative projects such as this and the programme of work announced last week will play an important role in helping the Combined Authority’s achieve its key objective of delivering economic growth through a good transport network for West Yorkshire and the Leeds City Region.

“To generate a real northern powerhouse we need systems like this which can connect people with opportunities.”

WYCA has created a video showing how to scan the tags and use the mobile phone app.